Mircea Panait
19,998 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae
Interning for Top Gear was his first foray in automotive journalism, and not long after that, a full-time position was opened for Mircea to seal the deal. Just about three years later, autoevolution became his new home.
Especially interested in American ponies and muscle cars, Mircea also finds the Japanese domestic market appealing thanks to the quirkiness of kei cars. Full-size pickups like the Ram 1500 and off-roaders such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon are much to his liking as well.
A self-described master of pasta and an avid CCG player, Mircea’s past-time activities include playing his Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition electric guitar, discovering the wonders of the Carpathian mountains by foot, and driving to the Black Sea to get a well-deserved tan.
Hyundai i20 Active Now Available with 1.0 T-GDi Engine in the United Kingdom
4 Feb 2016, 14:45 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The British arm of the Hyundai Motor Group recently launched the 2016 Hyundai i20 Active. For the 2016 model year refresh, the rugged brother of the i20 supermini drops the 1.4-liter gasoline motor. A 1.0 T-GDi three-cylinder turbocharged engine...
Jeep Enters Indian Market, Sales Start in Mid-2016
4 Feb 2016, 13:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Jeep, this pantheon of four-wheel-drive ruggedness, decided to enter India with three models. At the 2016 Auto Expo in New Delhi, Jeep will debut the Wrangle Unlimited, Grand Cherokee, as well as the 6.4-liter HEMI V8-powered Grand Cherokee SRT. An...
2016 Citroen SpaceTourer Debut Set for Geneva Motor Show
4 Feb 2016, 12:48 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Developed from the ground up to provide tons of practicality, the 2016 Citroen SpaceTourer will have its world premiere this March at the Geneva Motor Show. Designed for big families and shuttle service, the Citroen SpaceTourer can seat up to 9 peo...
Vin Diesel Confirms Fast & Furious 8, 9, and 10 on Instagram
4 Feb 2016, 12:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When the first movie in the Fast & Furious saga hit cinemas in 2001, nobody expected it to turn out into such a huge commercial success. But then again, no one expected the franchise to spread over 2 decades and 10 films. You’ve heard tha...
2016 Audi RS Q3 Performance to Premiere at Geneva Motor Show, Priced at €61,000
4 Feb 2016, 10:43 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Audi previously bestowed the performance treatment upon the RS 6 Avant and the RS 7 Sportback, but now it’s time for the 2016 Audi RS Q3 to follow suit. Although its official unveiling is in March at the Geneva Motor Show, the ordering books ...
Signature Red Model X Is Tesla’s Way of Celebrating the Chinese New Year
4 Feb 2016, 09:25 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Tesla China had its ups and downs since the Palo Alto-based manufacturer opened its first showroom in the Middle Kingdom in 2013. With the arrival of the Model X all-electric SUV, Tesla Motors aims to make the Chinese bourgeoisie fall in love with ...
2016 Opel Mokka X Slated to Debut at Geneva Motor Show
4 Feb 2016, 08:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / In production since 2012, the Opel Mokka has gradually become one of the biggest sweethearts of the subcompact crossover segment in Europe. Four years have passed since the model was born, which is why the time is right for the German manufacturer ...
Cadillac ELR Won’t Have a Second Generation
3 Feb 2016, 16:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / This just came in from Johan de Nysschen, the president of Cadillac - the ELR extended-range plug-in hybrid won’t live beyond the first generation. Due to its exorbitant retail price and sluggish sales, it’s not surprising that the ELR ...
It’s Official: Scion Is Dead
3 Feb 2016, 15:39 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / It saddens us to report this, but Scion is dead. The report originally published by CarBuzzard turned out to be right on the money. Thirteen years after it was established as a youth-oriented automotive brand, the Scion brand will be absorbed by...
2016 Renault RS16 Formula 1 Car Wears Black & Yellow Livery
3 Feb 2016, 14:58 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / At long last, French manufacturer Renault is back in Formula 1 as a works team. The newly (re)established outfit was born from the ashes of a financially troubled and underperforming Lotus F1 Team. From its inception in 2012 to the end of the 20...
Ferrari Shares Plummet Due to Sales Growth Slowdown
3 Feb 2016, 13:52 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced its intention to spin off the Prancing Horse division and separate it from the parent company, the severance began in October 2015 with mixed feelings from the financial world. But little did Ferrari expect...
2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Enters Best in the Desert Off-Road Racing Series
3 Feb 2016, 12:57 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The hottest pickup truck in the F-150 lineup isn’t all show and no go. To prove the rugged credentials of the twin-turbo V6-powered F-150 Raptor, the Blue Oval decided to enter one in this year’s edition of the grueling Best in the Dese...
UPDATE: Scion Is on the Verge of Death
3 Feb 2016, 10:54 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / This is somewhat out of the blue, but the Scion brand is apparently on the brink of being killed off by Toyota. BJ Killeen of CarBuzzard is the journalist who has broken the news. Motor Trend also covered the subject, and then the Scion Wikipe...
Zika Virus Outbreak Forces Tata to Rename the Zica Supermini
3 Feb 2016, 09:55 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / If you’re the type of person who’s up to date with world news, then you’re fully aware that the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas is a public health emergency of international concern. The internationality of it all force...
2017 Nissan Armada Is in Fact a Nissan Patrol Y62
3 Feb 2016, 09:13 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Nissan previously announced that the next-generation Armada would be based on the 2016 Nissan Titan pickup truck. But in August 2015, the manufacturer told the US media that the initial plan could suffer some modifications. Now, thanks to the wonde...
Subaru Impreza WRC S12B Driven by Petter Solberg and Colin McRae Put Up for Sale
3 Feb 2016, 08:22 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / 43 years have passed since the World Rally Championship was born. In those four decades of maximum attack at angles that boggle the mind of oversteer junkies, few people shined as bright as Petter Solberg. And this right here is one of the tools th...
50th Anniversary Shelby GT40 Costs $169,995 Sans Engine & Transmission
2 Feb 2016, 17:29 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / We all know that automotive story from the 1960s, the story of how Henry Ford II showed Enzo Ferrari who’s top dog at Le Mans. It’s the story of the world-beating Ford GT40, a car so rare and valuable that us mortals can only dream of o...
SUVs Are the Best-Selling Vehicles in Europe
2 Feb 2016, 16:31 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / More than a decade ago, the United States showed us that the popularity of the SUV is to be reckoned with. Fast-forward to calendar year 2015 and Europe caught up to the U.S. in terms of appreciation for these gentle four-wheeled giants. Ladies and...
Google Self-Driving Car Project Is Augmented by a Powerful Driving Simulator
2 Feb 2016, 15:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / No less than six years have passed since the Google Self-Driving Car Project started testing on public roads. During this time span, the fleet of vehicles that make up the project drove 1,419,672 miles (2,284,740 kilometers) in autonomous mode. ...
Ford Is the Best-Selling Commercial Vehicle Brand in Europe
2 Feb 2016, 13:59 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After the Ford Motor Company returned to profit in Europe (the first time since 2011), the Blue Oval’s division on the Old Continent is now preparing to pop the corks of two more champagne bottles. The first champagne is for the manufacturer&...